Minnesota Beats Minn. St., Mankato 4-1

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota used two power-play goals and a strong night in net by freshman goalie Adam Wilcox to beat Minnesota State, Mankato 4-1 on Saturday in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Nate Schmidt and Zach Budish had power-play goals for the Gophers (18-4-4, 10-4-4), who avenged Friday’s 2-1 loss that knocked the NCAA’s top-ranked team from the WCHA lead.

Wilcox made 26 saves to keep the Gophers in a second-place tie in the WCHA, one point behind St. Cloud State.

“We bounced back when we needed to,” Wilcox said.

Minnesota scored twice on reviewed goals in the first period and improved to 14-1-3 when scoring the first goal in the game. Its only loss was Friday’s last-second setback.

Justin Holl opened the scoring on Saturday on a breakaway that rebounded off his leg into the net. Nate Schmidt’s power-play goal followed five minutes later. It, too, was reviewed.

“Our power play was much better tonight and we did a good job cleaning up our area for Adam,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. “It’s nice to get back on the road and have a good, tight-knit game.”